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This Is Me--2019 A to Z Theme

The Challenge of 2019 was the 10th! Since this was kind of a milestone year for A to Z my theme was a retrospective of sorts, looking at my 10 years as a blogger as well as ruminations about my life as it is and as I hope it yet can be. I've got places to be and people to see along the way. Hope you'll join me for this part of my journey...

Always a work in progress--welcome to my blog.

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Monday, June 1, 2015

Garden Party (BOTB) & Question of the Month

Is it really time for anotherBattle of the Bands?Seeing how it's June 1st I guess it is time since this event happens on the 1st and 15th of each month. As I mentioned in my May 22nd post, this event has become a favorite of mine. We have Far Away Eyes atFar Away Seriesto thank for conceiving this homage to music. Stephan T McCarthy acts as the list steward and Battle of the Bands host--you can find his blog with the list of participants atStMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.The premise is simple: Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it. Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battles to vote on If you're here for the Question of the Month, you'll find that below the Battle of the Bands entries. Please take time to vote in the Battle of the Bands contest before you read my answer to this month's question posed by Michael G D'Agostinofrom A Life Examined. So now let the music begin!

A good many of you probably know the story of the song "Garden Party" but I'll briefly recap for those who don't know the story or may have forgotten. This song was written and originally recorded by Rick Nelson who was a teen idol rock star in the late 50's and early 60's. He first came to fame playing himself in his parents' popular television sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet which is where as a teenager he made his debut as a rock'n'roll singer.

Ricky Nelson went on to make a number of hit records as well appear in many movies and television shows. By 1966 Ricky, or Rick as he now called himself, was a fading star as music trends started changing. He was becoming a has-been relegated to playing his old hits for his now aging fans.

Not wanting to become musically stagnant, Rick Nelson formed the Stone Canyon Band which became precursors of the country tinged "California Sound" that influenced acts like Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Poco, and The Eagles. It was an innovative sound that was still rock, but with steel guitar and country style rhythms. Nelson was playing what he wanted to play.

In 1971 Nelson and his Stone Canyon Band played a rock and roll oldies show along with a few other early rock stars at Madison Square Garden. Many of the music elite were in attendance as well as an audience filled with fans wanting to hear Nelson's old hits. Dressed in modern garb and with shoulder length hair, Rick Nelson delivered some of his older songs to the appreciation of the audience. But when he started playing his newer material the audience began to boo and he left the stage in dismay.

In the song "Garden Party" which was inspired by that oldies revival show, there are many references made to the bill of performers as well as some of the greats who were in attendance on that night. "Garden Party" was released in 1972 hitting number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song also made the Billboard Easy Listening and Country charts. The song would be Nelson's last top 40 hit on the pop charts.

This Battle of the Bands contest is somewhat of a lightweight musically speaking--more fun than substance--but this is more in keeping with my theme over the past week concerning taste or preference. This is also my statement that on these Battle of the Bands posts I please myself first and hope in turn that the readers will find something of interest value and perhaps even entertainment value in what I present. I like the songs in the Battles I present, or there is something about them that I find interesting in some way.

We can't always please everyone, but if we stay true to ourselves then hopefully others will accept what we're doing and maybe even find some positive aspect about it. If you're not familiar with how Rick Nelson expressed this philosophy in his song, you might want to listen to his original version of "Garden Party". Don't vote on his version though--it's not in the running!

Here are your versions to vote on:

Owl City "Garden Party" (2012)
An electronica-pop version in a more modern vein than Nelson's original country style take. Considered more of a project than a band, Owl City is under the helm of producer Adam Young.

Johnny Lee "Country Party" (1977)

To make the decision tough, here's a version to vex the anti-twang non-country fans. The song is somewhat like a parody of Rick Nelson's version though it's given a serious country take. This recording made in 1977 reached #15 on the country charts.

Time to Vote!Come along and play! Please don't back out on this pairing with the excuse that you don't like the music. You don't have to like the music. You're being placed in the role of judge. Which version do you prefer? It's up to you to determine the winner. Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose (or which one was the least bad to your ears). Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.

I'm going to cut the lead time to the winner announcement short this time around. You'll get the final vote tally for this Battle on my post of Friday June 5th. You can vote on today'sBattle of the Bandspost until Thursday June 4th which will be when I make my final vote count. Please vote!

Question of the Month

The Question of the Month is hosted by Michael G D'Agostino from A Life Examined. The first Monday of each month I'll be answering a question posed by Michael prior to event day. Click on the link to his blog for more participants. Here is this month's question:

If your house caught on fire, what's the one thing you'd grab before running out?

Assuming that my wife can make it on her own and will be grabbing her own stuff, the thing I'd grab is my pants so I'd have my ID's and credit cards. It's such a hassle to replace a driver's license and since my house might be burned down or at least uninhabitable for a while, I'd probably need my credit cards so I could eat and stay in a motel and I'd have my keys so I could move my van out of the driveway. If I could I might even put my pants on before leaving the house. To what extent do you go to please others? How do you tend to feel when others criticize your taste in music or something else that you enjoy? What would you save from your burning house other than people or pets?

99 comments:

Ricky Nelson was such a clear, cut looking young man and his voice was so smooooth! Maybe I had a crush on him when I was little, I don't remember. He was a lot older than me and really I remember him best in the movie Rio Bravo ~ great movie. But, you don't wanna hear all of that stuff, do you? :D Anywho back to the showdown, Owl City's cover was a bit too different for me to really dig. Maybe, it's something that would grow on me in time, but I don't have that to give. Frankly, I'm really surprised that I liked Johnny Lee's cover. It does make me think more of Nelson's cut and I guess that's why I like it. So, I'm giving my vote to Johnny Lee. I can't believe I've voted country twice this morning so far. I wonder, if it has anything to do with me listening to iTunes Country station a lot lately? Hmmm... oh well!

What a fun little monthly meme (Question of the month)! I will check this out. I loved your answer. It made me laugh, but it makes a lot of sense. What would I save? Well...assuming like you that my beloved gets out okay, then I'd say I'd grab the external HDs and one laptop. I'd like to get all of my old photo albums, but that would be ridiculous to attempt. I guess I should get on the stick to getting all those pictures scanned to my HD just in case such a horror hit us. Think positively, Cathy! Nothing bad is going to happen, nothing bad is going to happen. Ok, I feel better.

Nah, it doesn't bother me that someone else doesn't like the music I listen to or share. We all can't be alike and it's nice to have a bit of diversity that's why I love music hops. I get a chance to see what other people enjoy for whatever reasons and grow my music library and opinion on artists/songs.

Great BoTB pick. I haven't heard Garden Party in quite some time and it was nice to listen to it this morning again. Have a tunetastic week, my friend!

Cathy, photos are one thing we always think of but I couldn't carry all of mine in one trip and few of them are digitally in one place. Something like a fire, flood, or in my case, earthquake is something I hope never happens to me.

Johnny Lee was indeed pretty true to Ricky's version. I always liked Ricky Nelson as I grew up with that show and he just seemed like such a likable guy.

<< I please myself first and hope in turn that the readers will find something of interest value and perhaps even entertainment value in what I present. >>

Amen, brother.

<< We can't always please everyone, but if we stay true to ourselves then hopefully others will accept what we're doing and maybe even find some positive aspect about it. >>

Amen, brother.

Thanks for introducing these two versions of "Garden Party." Both are new to me. I picked the Johnny Lee version because the overall sound was closer to Rick's original. I also liked the way Johnny substituted the names of country icons. Johnny's single charted in 1977, leading me to speculate that he was making a statement about the rift that was developing in country music around that time. The younger generation was embracing a more polished, pop style of country and a much of it was crossing over and to the pop chart. Older country fans rejected "new country" and remained loyal to the simpler, traditional style they had come to know and love in their youth.

Mark me down for Johnny Lee. Lee, and thank you for articulating the true spirit of BOTB. Have a great week!

I was 7 or 8 when the original Garden Party came out and maybe I took that 'can't please everyone so you got to please yourself' line a little too seriously b/c I don't really try to please others except for my husband. Or I don't know, maybe I do....I try to help my friends as much as I can, but I don't know if you can say that's trying to please them so much as help.

I get really pissed if someone puts down stuff I like. My ex husband used to do that a lot and sometimes Russell does it and I get really mad. It's OK to not be interested in it but don't put it down. He loves to go four wheeling or taking a truck on the powerlines and I have never once said, 'I think that's really stupid. why would you do that, bouncing around on that uneven dirt like that. What's the point.' I have no interest in doing stuff like that (I'm not an outdoorsy person), but I wouldn't put it down.

I would save my external hard drive, laptop and my 3 ring binders of negative for my old pre-digital photos. But there's so much I would also want to save too!

JoJo, what to save is a ridiculous thing really and it could change from week to week. I guess it's good to be prepared, but some things I don't know if we can adequately ever prepare for.

I also get resentful when people criticize what I like a lot. It's different if they just express their personal opinion and tell me why, but when they start trying to make me feel like I'm stupid for liking something or have bad taste then I find that uncalled for and very annoying.

I'd rather discuss the weaknesses and merits of something until you come to a point of common understanding..

Thanks for the background on Garden Party, didn't know that. I generally like Owl City (blame it on having a 15 yo daughter), and am not much of a country fan. However in this case Johnny Lee sounded familiar and I knew all the artists he threw into his song. So I'm going to vote for Johnny Lee.

What would I grab in some fire? My wedding album, the notebook with all my passwords in it and my cellphone. Hope I never have to test that!

I dig the diversity in this one. So let me just say I like electronica. It's one of my favorite genres of music. And yet... I can't stand Owl City. I think of him more as teeny bopper electronica, and his songs all have a tendency to sound the same. His version of Garden Party, much in that fashion, just didn't really leave a lasting impression. A very easy vote for Johnny Lee.

I guess I would grab my purse and bag of dog treats with a tin of sardines. Shaking the bag and opening the sardines, all of my pets should follow me out. lol

Of course, I liked Johnny Lee better. The song is meant to be sung country. However, none were as good as the original artist Rick Nelson. It is just a shame so many get hooked on drugs and that dependency with a workaholic schedule takes over their life.

I love how everyone is saying "Assuming that my wife/husband, kids, and critters are safe..." Those really are the most important. But grabbing IDs and credit cards would be super smart. Gosh, I didn't think about that.

Well, thanks Lee, this one took me by surprise. I must have changed my 'vote mind' at least three times. I might not even be sure this time, but I enjoy the inner conflict! Ha! Got to please yourself, indeed!

Owl City was interesting but I kept waiting on backup singers, or a fiercer instrumental play. It almost 'flat-lined,' for me. Then I listened to Johnny Lee, and he was closer to the Nelson original... but I didn't want him to change the lyrics. Oh I know, he was pleasing himself. I tinkered playing the videos a few times, and it dawned on me. I really so supported Nelson's song at His time, I didn't want a version close to it. To me no one could ever do this the same way, because Nelson performed this due to his feelings of poor reception to his newer music. Newer music? Off I went, again, to listen to Owl City... I'm voting for Owl City.

Question of the month: "If your house caught on fire, what's the one thing you'd grab before running out?"First I totally missed joining this blog hop. Ironically I've been creating what I call my 'house bag'... it's got everything pertinent in it to answer that question. I plan to keep it by the door. But I've also thought to keep it locked in my safety box of my van. I would definitely grab my wallet, my Bible, and my index box with phone numbers and passwords.

Well, I'm more concerned with strange situations than strangers. I mean, everyone's a stranger before you're friends. :)I'll go outta my way to please my family, but a random person.. nah. You get what ya get!

Susan GK, I don't care if people criticize my choices of preferences, but I do get a bit miffed if they attack me for liking something. Sometimes people seem to just get a rise out of others by making their preferences a judgement of character, intelligence, upbringing, or something else.

Well, let me start by saying "Garden Party" will never make my list of favourite songs in any version, but I did prefer Johnny Lee's rendition, mostly because his vocals are more pleasing to my ears. ☺ It shouldn't matter what others think of your musical tastes or anything else. "To each their own", as they say and it's most important to please yourself. Question of the day.... Tough choice and I couldn't take just one thing: My purse, which has wallet, keys and cell phone, USB stick with photos and music, wedding album and gold ring which hubby bought in Greece. (I'm also assuming that Hubby can get himself and the dogs out.)

Ooh, just when I was feeling a little bit country. Fun battle. I like Johnny Lee's version better. Owl City is okay but I like the tweaking that Lee did with the lyrics. And I like his sound better. It's putting me in a country state of mind so I might just be listening to country all day today. Thanks for that! It doesn't happen all that often...And thanks for bringing up Ricky Nelson. How I love his old songs!! Takes me back...Michele at Angels Bark

I'm not sure I can back your decision to grab pants. That's so... I don't know... practical and shallow. Yes, shallow. In the face of your house burning down, you could at least parade around in your underwear for us.

Andrew, then again with my van keys and my wallet I could just hop in my van and leave it all behind. No more house, nothing left to stay for. I'll lead the vagabond life and the insurance company can just send me a check to finance my roving spirit for a while.

This vote was actually pretty tough for me. I liked Ricky's original, I liked the country twist that Johnny Lee put on it all the while sticking pretty close, and I liked Owl City's version.

Like you, my musical tastes are pretty wide, and I was aware of Owl City from their Fireflies hit of several years ago. I liked that one, and this Garden Party had that same flavor (perhaps they all sound the same, as the Beer Brothers said?). They use "autotune," which I like, but ONLY when I have the sense that it is done more for effect than because the singer can't carry a tune. The use here was light.

Johnny Lee gets my vote, and I'm not a country fan per se, but I like the country twist with mention of Loretta, Waylon, Willie etc. My mom was a big country fan so I grew up being forced to listen. I do like Willie very much, as well as Dwight Yoakum, Allan Jackson, and Dan Hicks. The other version is just too soft, even softer than ol' Ricky, and I'm not a fan of soft pop. . .

I'll go with Owl City; more on the mellow side, which is where I live. When Rick Nelson was performing at Los Angeles County fairgrounds, we scraped up enough $$ to see him. A wonderful experience.Question: I think I already answered this at Alex C.'s site, but I'll say again. I would rescue photographs--nothing can replace those grainy b/w from my grandmother's era all the way up to the 90s.

Great battle! I actually like both versions. Caught myself singing along to both of them as I listened. After all is said and done, though... I think my vote goes to Johnny Lee. I was pleasantly surprised by his version the most.

I didn't like what Owl City did to the song. Yes, they kept the words the same, but not the feel, and I didn't like having every verse in a different key.

Johnny Lee changed the names, but not the feeling of the song, and while it was meant to be a parody, it didn't feel like one. I like his version about as well as Rick Nelson's original, so he gets my vote here.

Your answer to the question of the month is probably a perfect match to what my husband would say, right down to putting on the pants. For battle of the bans, I guess I'd choose Owl City, though I really do prefer the original. As for the "Country Party" I can appreciate it for what it is, but I'll pass.

LEE ~I like Ricky Nelson quite a bit. He's one of my very favorite Rock 'N' Rollers from the 1950s and early '60s (right in there with Eddie Cochran and Chuck Berry).

In this contest, I'm voting for JOHNNY LEE for one reason only: He has a "Lee" in his name and so do you.

Nah, I'm just kidding.

I really AM voting for JOHNNY LEE, but it's because I liked the way he did the song, the way he twisted the lyrics to suit his Country frame of mind, and, hellck, any song that mentions "Waylon" is gonna seem good to me.

When I read your remark "An electronica-pop version in a more modern vein..." my first thought was: Uh-Oh! I probably ain't gonna like OWL CITY at all. But to my surprise, it wasn't bad. I would say it was fairly good, except that the "clapping" sound really got pretty old after awhile. But all in all, not bad. Still, no contest when it came to my vote though.

Michael, funny but I kept picturing the fire happening at night when I was asleep. But why couldn't it happen in the day while I was fully dressed. In that case I probably wouldn't think much and just grab whatever was nearby.

Ha, so nice to know you might actually PUT ON THE PANTS. *giggles* I think I'd have to save my wine (would really need to get drunk) and my Kindle (don't want to get bored).

Gads, I loved both these artists. I'm a Johnny Lee fan, of course, paying homage to almost all things country; but I very much liked Owl City's style. He had me wanting to clap along and nodding to the sentiment. Ah, but I loved all the names listed by both.

Decisions, decisions; can I vote for both. Both have their merits. Would love for them to sing this as a duo. That would work.

Since I am so divided I will give my vote to Owl City because 1) they sound enough like Rick in their rendition, and 2) they embodied the sorrow I felt when listening to Rick. Johnny's version felt nostalgic, but not quite "hurt" by the fan's slight.

And as for pleasing other? I do if I can. It is my first instinct. Gets me in trouble sometimes. But I don't go out of my looking for good deeds to do, and rarely feel guilt if my interests and other's don't quite click. I'm a pretty easy going, flexible person however, so there is rarely a conflict.

Oh I am not a country fan but I still vote for Johnny Lee. It seems more original because I can't even remember the other one. This has more to it. I do try to please people that I care about. I will do whatever I can for them first before me. I learned very early on that one can't please everyone and the people who seek out to be nasty are actually bullies. As for the question...I would save my computer and pictures and ancestry stuff-yup more than one but they all go hand in hand because you can't replace pictures once they are gone nor documents

Johnny Lee gets my vote. My two Gibsons I have two hands. Got to please yourself and as I age the more that is true. Disagreements in tastes of music usually lead to great conversations anong those I hang out with

When I was younger, all I did was please others. Now that I am longer in the tooth, I'm finally letting go of that bad habit. Same goes for someone being critical about my music. I would take it personal, but now I realize people have different tastes in music and will sometimes disagree. Finally for the burning house question, after family members, in the past it would be photo albums. In present day, I would grab my external hard drives which stores our digital photos. Funny how things change, but somehow stays the same.

Great answer to the fire question. I would also put my pants on! As far as your questions...I used to be a huge people pleaser. That's bad. It made me a doormat, and people took advantage of me. I've learned to hold my own and walk away from people who confuse my kindness for weakness.Play off the Page

Johnny Lee - for two reasons that may seem contradictory. One is that it is truer to the spirit of Nelson's and the other is that at least lyrically he takes it somewhere else - and not awkwardly. The owl guy has a sweet voice but nothing much happens one way or the t'other.As to Ricky - oh man oh man - in a heartbeat I'm 13 watching him sing with his eyes closed - he always sang with his eyes closed. I'm a Fool and I'm Rushing In. nuff said.

Battle of the Bands - Hmmm, I'm not a country fan. Or at least I think I'm not. But I don't like the Owl City version. Can't really place my finger on it. I have a habit of not liking remakes. But I should be used to it, because there are so many and as I get older, I find many of the songs I love are actually remakes themselves. That being said, I actually liked the Country version. It's been known to happen, I do like a few country songs. Though I don't generally admit it. Fortunately, this is a not a public platform or I'd never admit it. Wait what??? This blog is public? Drat! Well, just keep my secret. And it's a good thing you said not to include votes for the original song, because I actually like that song and know it well. If it were in the running, I would have chosen it. One of these days I will talk myself into joining the Battle of the Bands. So much writing to do, so little time. :(

Jeffrey, posts on the 1st and 15th are preferred since since we don't like to keep changing our lists all the time, but some participants do seem to not always be consistent. If you plan to do one then let me know so I can add your link to my list and let the other participants know so they can add to their list if they have one or they can at least visit you. It's kind of a word of mouth thing anyway. No official sign up.

I think I'd like to participate. Originally when I started my blog it was supposed to be 1/3 music themed. I've gotten away from that. I'd like to get back into showcasing some music. I've been pondering this for awhile so I suppose that means I really want to do this. So, here I go.

Okay, Jeffrey, I'll add you to my list in my next BOTB post and then you can proceed in the manner I've indicated in my previous response. I look forward to your offerings--cash preferred. I also look forward to what you post for BOTB.

I like the crisp sound of Owl City, though Ricky Nelson sang it best. Owl City gets my vote. I love how you have everything you need in your pants at all times. I hope you or your wife are careful to check your pockets on laundry day!

Terrific call on grabbing your pants; you'd be all set! I'd grab my work bag that holds everything from tools and passwords/phone numbers, whatever I'm reading, to dog treats (though they'd follow without a bribe anyway).Ricky Nelson's version is still the best and I'd never heard of Owl City but they're not bad. Not great either. Nor is Johnny Lee but he gets my vote :-)

Go ahead and say something. Don't be afraid to speak your mind.I normally try to respond to all comments in the comment section so please remember to check the "Email follow-up comments" box if you want to participate in the comment conversation.

For Battle of the Bands voting the "Anonymous" commenting option has been made available though this version is the least preferred. If voting using "anonymous" please include in your comment your name (first only is okay) and city you are voting from and the reason you chose the artist you did.

If you know me and want to comment but don't want to do it here, then you can send me an email @ jacksonlee51 at aol dot com.

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